CHRONEXT announces $34 million financing round

3 minutes readJanuary 2018

With more than 95% of luxury watches still purchased offline, the sector’s leading transactional marketplace CHRONEXT receives an investment from Endeit Capital and Tengelmann Ventures to accelerate corporate growth and strengthen direct relationships with watch brands.

CHRONEXT, the leading transactional marketplace for luxury watches, today announced a financing round of $34 million. The round was led by Endeit Capital and Tengelmann Ventures, who came in as new shareholders, alongside existing investors, Octopus Ventures, Partech Ventures and Capnamic. The new investment will allow CHRONEXT to strengthen its international growth and further develop its platform with regards to technology, mobile compatibility and content. CHRONEXT already works directly with many of the top ten largest luxury watch manufacturers, in developing their digital distribution channels and omnichannel approaches. The aim is to further strengthen direct ties with important watch brands.

“The immense upheaval in the personal luxury retail market has only just begun”, explains Martijn Hamann, Partner at Endeit Capital. “Technology has transformed the way consumers, especially millennials, shop and connect with high-end brands and we believe that CHRONEXT is uniquely positioned to tap into this. Marketing these high-value, personal products in partnership with authentic, online e-commerce companies such as CHRONEXT will strengthen the future of these brands towards both new and existing generations of watch fans. Endeit Capital is looking forward to both supporting the CHRONEXT founders with this multi-billion dollar opportunity and helping the leading brands to develop their digital strategies.”

Founded in 2013 in Switzerland, today CHRONEXT is the leading platform for new, pre-owned and vintage luxury watches and reports an average annual sales increase of 230%. The company buys, sells and services watches from various manufacturers at competitive prices. “We are delighted to have Endeit Capital and Tengelmann Ventures joining our circle of existing shareholders”, says Philipp Man, Co-Founder and CEO of CHRONEXT, “They have many years of experience in scaling marketplaces and e-commerce companies and are also experts in the areas of branding, content and corporate internationalization. With their support, CHRONEXT will become the largest player in the luxury timepiece market in the near future. Our focus on customer satisfaction and our close collaboration with both luxury watch manufacturers and their retail partners have really made us stand out in the industry.”

CHRONEXT allows over 1,800 retailers, brands and consumers to do business globally. The company takes care of pre- and after-sale service, payment, authentication and also logistics. Online sales currently account for less than 5% of the market and represent the fastest growing segment of the industry. In order to ensure certainty in online retail, every watch offered by CHRONEXT undergoes a meticulous, 13-step inspection at the company’s certified, in-house watchmaking atelier in order to examine its condition and authenticity. Should customers be unable to find their desired timepiece, the CHRONEXT Watchhunter team can source it for them. In addition to the growing online selection of 28,000 luxury watches that are available for immediate purchase, CHRONEXT customers can visit Zug in Switzerland, Munich and Cologne in Germany or the London-based, flagship boutique where they can browse a selection of watches or pick up their online purchase